continuum
noun /kənˈtɪnjuəm/
/kənˈtɪnjuəm/
(plural continua
/kənˈtɪnjuə/
/kənˈtɪnjuə/
)- a series of similar items in which each is almost the same as the ones next to it but the last is very different from the first synonym cline
- It is impossible to say at what point along the continuum a dialect becomes a separate language.
Word Originmid 17th cent.: from Latin, neuter of continuus ‘uninterrupted’, from continere ‘hang together’ (from con- ‘together with’ + tenere ‘hold’).